1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a machining apparatus and a method of machining and, more particularly, to a machining apparatus using a rotary machine tool to machine a workpiece and a method of machining to machine a workpiece by a rotary machine tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 5A and 5B show end and side views of a conventional machining apparatus. The apparatus is a dicing apparatus provided with a spindle 100 which rotates at a high speed, a grinder 101 held by spindle 100, and a chuck table 102 to fix or hold a workpiece 103, such as a semiconductor wafer to be diced by cutting or grooving by pressing grinder 101 onto workpiece 103.
When workpiece 103 is cut or grooved, large quantities of working dust are produced. A nozzle 104 is therefore provided to jet a cutting liquid L onto grinder 101 and workpiece 103 to remove the working dust and to cool grinder 101 and workpiece 103.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-347934 (kokai) shows nozzle 104 which is arranged to face the peripheral surface of grinder 101. Nozzle 104 is moveable in X, Y, and Z directions such as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and is further rotatable around the Y axis to be adjusted to a most preferred position.
Another machining apparatus with two nozzles to supply cutting liquid for a grinder L and a workpiece, respectively, is also known. Further, yet another conventional machining apparatus includes a nozzle having a bellows shape.
Meanwhile, a grinder may need to be replaced according to a material, a shape, and a specification of a workpiece before cutting or grooving. When replacing a grinder, the nozzle needs to be moved to a position which does not interfere with the replacement of the grinder. After replacement of the grinder, the nozzle accordingly needs to be rearranged to a most preferred position for grooving or cutting.
An operator manually arranges the position of the nozzle based upon his/her experience. It is accordingly difficult for an operator who has less experience to rearrange the nozzle to the most preferred position. Therefore, the nozzle may be misaligned. As a result, a fluctuation in grinding accuracy increases.